Nation

Answers sought over horse ‘rape’

PETALING JAYA: Mohamad Nor Arshad, the traumatised owner of Siti, a five-year-old mare which is believed to have been “raped and murdered” by an Arabian stallion, wants to know what really happened to his pony.

“I am very upset at what happened as I love horses.

“I hope other horse lovers do not have to go through this ordeal,” said the 35-year-old businessman.

He said the news of his animal's horrific death on Jan 21 had caught the attention of several animal rights groups including the Malaysian Equine Council.

“It is keeping tabs on the progress of this case as they are interested in the outcome, too,” he said, adding that he had not lodged a report with the council.

He said he decided to house Siti, a pony breed at the Sungai Ramal Dalam stables on Jan 15 after it was given to him by a friend.

“I was so glad when a friend offered his pony recently as he could no longer care for it.

“I sent Siti to the stables for a two-week rehabilitation but was shocked to learn of her death six days later.”

“Siti died the very same day I decided to name the foal Sydney,” he said, adding that he had put the filly under the care of a different stable following the incident.

It was reported that Mohamad Nor, from Kampung Pandan Dalam, lodged a police report on Jan 21 over the “rape and murder” of Siti by a stallion, named Al-Walid, believed to be owned by a “Datuk” from Kuala Lumpur.

Mohammed Nor said he had heard there were other similar incidents at other stables where aggressive horses had attacked other horses.

“Such incidents are rarely highlighted,” he said.

A check at the stable revealed that it was business as usual with several workers saying they were unaware of the incident.

A caretaker of the stable had found Siti lying on the ground and shivering at about 8am on Jan 21 with injuries on the head, bite marks on the back and the private parts bleeding profusely.

Veterinarians from the Cheras Veterinary Department and Universiti Putra Malaysia tried to save the mare but it died about three hours later.

Preliminary checks by the veterinarian from UPM showed the mare was probably “raped and killed” by the forcefulness of the stallion.

Based on the police report, the stallion was apparently placed in the mare's enclosure for a day due to space constraints at the stable.

Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Mohd Adnan Abdullah said the case was not under the jurisdiction of the police but under the Veterinary Department.